Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose
by kazeko-chan
Summary: The people of Uranus are preparing for war against their fellow planets, and their Senshi Queen is nowhere to be found. Crystal Tokyo's only hope is that Haruka will return in time to save the planets from her people. For Saun, fellow author
1. The Lonely Queen

**Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose**

**Title: **Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose  
**Author:** kazeko  
**Show:** Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon  
**Series: **Crystals of Love: Tales of the Heart from Crystal Tokyo  
**Rating:** PG13  
**Multipart:** yes  
**Chapters: **1  
**Couple(s): **Haruka/Michiru  
**Time:** Crystal Tokyo, a thousand years or so after the Black Moon Family

**Timeline: **"A Child of Darkness and Light", "Crystals of Love: Masks", "The Last Sacrifice: The End of the Silver Millennium", "CAS 1: The Trouble with Love is the Lovers", "CAS 2: To Defy Destiny", "Every Cloud", "Crystal Shards", "CAS 3: Unwilling Accomplice", "Our Past 1: The Reason We Fight", "CAS 4: Princess of Light", "Our Past 2: The Reason We Still Fight", "Our Past 3: The Reason We Fought", "CAS 5: One Last Shining Star", "In the Darkest Forest", "Destiny or Duty", "Desperately Searching", "Kazeko", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 1: The Gathering", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 2: Castle in the Sky", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 3: Queen of the Moon", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 4: Separation Anxiety", "Crystals of Love: Betrayal", "Crystals of Love: Forsaken", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 5: Black Moon Family", "Crystals of Love: Destined Couple", "Crystals of Love: Horoscope", "Crystals of Love: Haiku", "Crystals of Love: Thunder Goddess", "Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose"

**Summary:** The people of Uranus have taken a dislike to the other planets of Crystal Tokyo, but their queen, the one woman who can control them, is nowhere to be found.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own them.

* * *

Chapter 1: The Lonely Queen

* * *

"Bored." 

"Hmm?"

"I'm bored. And you're no fun anymore."

"Be reasonable, love. Being a planetary administrator is no easy job. Princess, Queen, whatever you want to call it. That and spending so much time recently in the Court with the Queen has made my free time virtually non-existent."

"But I'm still bored. You have so many meetings that I never see you anymore. I can't think of the last time we even spent the night together."

"Don't tell me that is what's upsetting you. Certainly you have your own duties to attend to among your people."

The blonde shrugged. "They handle themselves. I only deal with them when there is some major conflict or something. I rarely even visit my palace that much. I'd much rather be here, with you."

Her aqua-haired wife snorted. "Certainly Uranus needs more than an indifferent hand once in a while. Neptune requires constant supervision."

"It doesn't require—you give," Uranus clarified, her tone a little sharper than usual. "Did you even hear me?"

"That you'd rather waste time in my palace than taking care of yours? Yes, I did. And I think that it's perfectly natural that we don't need to sleep in the same bed every night now that we're older and wiser. Certainly Mars and Venus are apart for a great deal of time."

"Yet for Pluto the visit to her world is the exception to the rule and she spends most of her days and nights on the Moon with her Star Senshi wife. Endymion rarely strays from Serenity's side and their marriage has sustained Earth for centuries. Certainly you don't think that could have worked if she was too busy on the Moon to give him the time of day."

Michiru sighed and placed her holo-pad down. Her sapphire eyes were older and wiser, and Haruka thought perhaps a little duller, than they had been in her youth as she spent her days ruling her planet. Serenity had helped her Senshi revitalize their planets millennia ago, soon after the Black Moon Family was defeated, and Michiru took her people's needs as an extension of her heart, giving everything to them and saving nothing for the woman who stole her heart when they were still mortal so long ago. Haruka felt despair well up deep inside, knowing that her Michiru was dying, giving way to this cold queen, and there was nothing she could do about it. "Haruka, you are being so silly. Of course I would like to spend more time with you, but Neptune cannot run itself without my guidance. Truly, your planet must be in dire straights as often as you are here to visit me. I still love you dearly, but our queen has given us each a mission to restore our old planets to their former glory, and I will recreate it as I remember. My mother certainly never shirked her duties to play around on Uranus and your mother was also very loyal to her throne. Our love will stay strong even if we stay apart most of the year, and we still get together every time the Queen has a feast or one of our daughters or granddaughters invites us somewhere. Little Juri will have her daughter soon and I know we will both spend at least a month in the Antares system to visit her and Mars and Venus's granddaughter when another child joins our two families. Can't you wait?"

Haruka stood, straightening her formal green jacket and the necklace that marked her as the Queen of Uranus. "At least when we were chasing our princess, we worked together in our obsession. This urge you have to prove that you are twice the queen your mother was is destroying me, and I can't take it anymore. Come find me when you are ready to be my wife and not my partner as an Outer Senshi." With that, the Space Turbulence Crystal in the blonde's locket glowed to life and she vanished, leaving a lonely queen in her empty palace. Glancing out at the aqua waves crashing against sapphire shores under her palace, the queen sighed and returned to her duties. Haruka would return in a few days. She always did.

* * *

"The nature preserve in the Antilles System is a noble idea, Mercury, but who will run it? Certainly that person would have a hard time, creating a habitat from nothing and building homes for the staff and visitors." 

"I have found a group of people from four different worlds willing to work together to make this habitat work. All we need is some of the materials . . ."

Michiru tuned out her fellow Senshi, wondering why she could no longer concentrate. Lately she had been so distracted, unable to properly manage her own planet as word that Uranus's queen had vanished filled Crystal Tokyo and the Alliance. Uranus had some of the least hospitable moons in the Solar System, and the people there were tough, requiring a strong a diligent hand to rule them wisely. The current Chancellor, a woman only vaguely related to the Royal Line, cared little for the other planets as she built her small kingdom into a great military power. She claimed that it was to protect the Inner Planets, but the Chancellors of the other planets were beginning to worry about her motives. When Neptune had tried to visit the Palace on Miranda, she had been forcefully ejected from the planetary system, rudely informed that "Traitors to the Queen" were not tolerated on Uranus.

"Michiru-san?"

"Hmm? Ah, gomen, Sertenity-sama. I was lost in thought."

"About what, my friend?"

"Usagi-san, there are rumors that Uranus is readying for war with the other planets, its citizens desperate for power and recognition."

"That can't be true. Your wife does a fine job keeping the militant faction of her harsh worlds calm and quiet. There is nothing to worry about."

"Usagi, Haruka's gone."

"What?" Venus stood slightly from her seat, leaning over so she could see down the Council Table to her Outer colleague. "Certainly that is not possible. We would have noticed. One of us cannot go missing so callously."

"And yet that is the truth. The Chancellor of Uranus has been ruling on her own for almost fifty years now. Haruka always watched over her people far more frequently than that. She would never let a faction of militants come to power so firmly on her planet."

"Certainly you would have noticed is Haruka left," Setsuna murmured, her dark red eyes holding secret knowledge. "Unless you chose not to know."

Michiru froze as all eyes turned to her, a rare loss of words for the eloquent queen. "Truly, I think I did know, but I chose to ignore it. I hoped that she had returned to her planet to take firmer control as I always advocated she should, but it seems that she left us altogether. Even Haruka would never disobey a Summons to Council."

Serenity looked around, finally noticing that one of her Planet Senshi was missing. Among the Star Senshi ambassadors, her mothers, and the other Planet Senshi, she had never noticed that the tall blonde was nowhere to be found. "When did she leave?"

"Fifty years ago," Michiru whispered, hanging her head. "It seems like such a small drop of life in our eternity, but I should have noticed when more than a year passed. I lost my wife and I never noticed. I cannot believe what a fool I have been these past few hundred years. I let my determination to be a greater queen than my mother was cloud my heart. I spent all of my time running a kingdom that needed little help and none of my time with the wife I promised my heart and soul to so long ago. How could I have been so blind?"

Mercury reached over and patted her water-loving friend on the shoulder. "Michiru, we all lose our way sometimes. You say that Uranus is arming? I think I have felt some small ripple of fear of that planet from my people and my Chancellor."

"I have heard tidings of war from my father's planet," Hotaru admitted, "but I discounted them readily as the same fear that Uranus has always evoked."

"The people of Jupiter have stopped visiting that world, though it used to be a popular vacation site and they have friends and family there. My Chancellor voiced some small concern that I should visit that lost world, but I discounted her words."

"Mars, a planet given life by the God of War, trembles every dawn as the planet Uranus winks in the sky. My own military is arming itself, without my orders, because we have a link to Ares that tells us something is coming. This world we have so casually ignored, thinking its people harsh, cruel, barbaric, and not as much citizens of the Alliance as the other worlds, know that they have the power to destroy us without much effort."

"Why have none of you brought this to my attention before?"

"We thought, Serenity, that Haruka could control any uprising," Venus whispered. "Why assume an attack fueled by hatred when the Queen loves you so dearly?"

Serenity stood, every Senshi looking up, fire in their eyes. Michiru's fire turned to tears at her queen's words. "We cannot allow civil war to decimate this kingdom. I want all Star Senshi available to return to the Moon Palace. The rest of you, arm your planets and your people. Michiru, if you cannot find your wife in time to stop this, we will be forced to destroy any Uranian that stands in our way."

* * *

To be continued... 


	2. Chancellor

**Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose**

**Title: **Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose  
**Author:** kazeko  
**Show:** Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon  
**Series: **Crystals of Love: Tales of the Heart from Crystal Tokyo  
**Multipart:** yes  
**Chapters: **2  
**Couple(s): **Haruka/Michiru  
**Time:** Crystal Tokyo, a thousand years or so after the Black Moon Family

**Timeline: **"A Child of Darkness and Light", "Crystals of Love: Masks", "The Last Sacrifice: The End of the Silver Millennium", "CAS 1: The Trouble with Love is the Lovers", "CAS 2: To Defy Destiny", "Every Cloud", "Crystal Shards", "CAS 3: Unwilling Accomplice", "Our Past 1: The Reason We Fight", "CAS 4: Princess of Light", "Our Past 2: The Reason We Still Fight", "Our Past 3: The Reason We Fought", "CAS 5: One Last Shining Star", "In the Darkest Forest", "Destiny or Duty", "Dead Crystals", "Desperately Searching", "Kazeko", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 1: The Gathering", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 2: Castle in the Sky", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 3: Queen of the Moon", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 4: Separation Anxiety", "Crystals of Love: Betrayal", "Crystals of Love: Forsaken", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 5: Black Moon Family", "Crystals of Love: Destined Couple", "Crystals of Love: Horoscope", "Crystals of Love: Haiku", "Crystals of Love: Thunder Goddess", "Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose"

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them.

* * *

Chapter 2: Chancellor

* * *

"The Third Squadron readies as we speak. The recent explosion of new technology will make us capable of attacking the other palaces at the same time, weakening defenses throughout Crystal Tokyo." 

The woman with dark gray hair and sharp black eyes nodded once. "Good. Prepare for the first assault in two days' time. The Queen has an inkling to our true power and we must not lose the element of surprise." The Chancellor of Uranus stared at her holo-maps, examining the other planetary systems sagely. "Mars will be the greatest challenge, Jupiter second. They have a lot of people and they are well-trained in the art of war from the day of their birth. We must not underestimate our enemies. The Senshi we can distract by attacking one of the other planets with such force and might that they must respond themselves to stop the death. We have the cloaked ships ready?"

"Yes, My Lady. They are equipped to resemble a force from the Antares System, known for its warlike queens mildly contained by the Star Senshi there. It seems to me that the two in charge there, a daughter of Uranus's Line and a daughter of Mars's line will soon have a daughter they have been waiting fifty mortal years for. It amazes me sometimes that the Senshi have pregnancies that last the length of a common life and then their children take hundreds of years to reach maturity. It seems that the Senshi would die out with so few births."

"They never die, Chamberlain. They never die. The Queen of Uranus has ruled for thousands of years, her beauty and strength ageless and perfect. She will never die as long as her people love and worship her. The same with her daughters that live among us as Princesses of Uranus. Michie especially is as perfect in strength and power as her mother, the spitting image of Our Queen."

"Have the Princesses prepared for War, My Lady?"

"They vanished with their mother, Chamberlain, to take care of her on her travels. They would not need to be bothered with our petty mortal concerns in any case. They are above us. They will always be above us."

"The Triplets did visit their palace briefly twenty or so years ago, as rumors claim, to check up on our progress. Do you think they were satisfied?"

"What have we done that would not satisfy a Princess of Uranus? I will ride on the ship that attacks from outside the Solar System, to watch as our enemies burn. You will be in the fleet that attacks Mars, and the rest of my Councilors will be spread where I see they will do the most good."

"Where will your fleet attack?"

"Where else but the planet that harbors that woman who broke our queen's heart? I will destroy the Planet Neptune and burn its queen so that all of Crystal Tokyo can see not to mess with a Uranian heart."

"Very good, milady."

* * *

"The perimeter alarms are going haywire! General, I have no idea what this fleet is!" 

"No markings in the database?"

"No, Sir! None! They are bearing down on us with hostile intent, and there is no word from any of the other planets about it! We're farther from the sun than Pluto right now, so we get everything first. There are not other reports. Sir, we must call one of the Princesses or the Queen!"

The High General nodded as he sent a signal to the warships circling the planetary system. He also sent a coded message straight to the Queen, wondering if she would even answer. It had been so long since she had spoken to her people, but an attack should at least get her attention. It had been so long since Neptune had gone to war, but the High General was ready.

* * *

"They have been identified as ships from the Antares system. They have attacked the moons of Neptune already and the planetary defense system is retaliating. Mars has readied its fleet and ships are gathering above Io, joining with the Jupiter fleets. Earth is readying its armies to protect the Queen and her family, and the Senshi are gathering here. Every Star Senshi in this system is also coming here. I can't believe that Antares would attack, no matter how warlike the queens are." 

Pluto nodded as she scanned the report. "They waited until Pluto pulled closer to the sun than Neptune. That planet is not as ready for an attack as this one, or Uranus. Neptune has always been the weakest link in the system-wide defense network. The queen there has never been interested in war, nor has she taken much effort to arm her planet beyond the minimum imposed on all the planets. I cannot contact her at all. At this moment, the attack from Antares is more important than the possible threat from Uranus. Prepare all of my ships, General, and call the Princesses. We go to war, I suppose."

* * *

The Queen of Mars had been blessed with many daughters over the centuries, all of whom had become Star Senshi in their own right and many of whom had left Mars. Some remained, as some remained on every planet, to help their mother run her kingdom. Those without planets of their own to rule, or those who had chosen not to claim planets of their stars, were called Princesses and lived on the planet of one of their mothers. The Princesses of Mars were fierce warriors, beautiful and deadly, easily as fiery as the Queen of the Planet of War. Matsurika, Mars's first daughter, had married Rikaze, daughter of Rikuriko and Asakaze, and moved to Antares, birthing seven daughters with Star Senshi Power, naming one of them their heir as soon as she married Juri, daughter of Kazeko and Shousha. Matsurika had not spent much time in her star system recently, preferring the company of her mothers and planet-less Senshi sisters. Mika, wife of Aya, and Chiyoko, wife of Setsuko, were visiting their Princess sisters when the attack on Neptune was announced through the system, and the sisters gathered with their mother to examine the ships in the images sent back from the edge of the solar system. 

Akane, the High Priestess of Crystal Tokyo, watched impassively as her sisters, the twins Akako and Kinko, argued furiously in the corner while Matsurika shook her head. "I can't believe it, Mother. I can't believe Juri and Kikyo would be so careless. They know better than to let the War Queens get out of control. Those can't be ships from Antares."

"They look it, Rika. Have you tried to contact your daughter?"

"I can't sense her. She must be in labor, Mother. I would not be able to get through. Perhaps Kazeko and Shousha can speak to Juri."

"Kazeko cannot be found. Neither can the Princesses of Uranus, as much as I would like that planet's help in this. Queen Serenity has been trying to contact Michiru for hours but she cannot get through. That is very strange, Rika. I am not used to being cut off from my fellow Planet and Star Senshi."

"Those ships are not from Antares," Akane whispered, her gold eyes glazing as her power to see auras filled her. She stared at the image of the ship, using it to move her sight to the real ship, light minutes away, shaking her head at what she found. "That Chancellor of Uranus is on that ship, and their auras are tainted with Uranian air. The Chancellor must be trying to destroy the planet of the woman who broke her queen's heart. They are trying to avenge Haruka's loss."

Akane jerked as her eyes cleared, shaking the webs of the headache from her mind. Her mother touched her arm. "Are you sure, Akane?"

"I am. And they are coming here . . ."

"What?" Mars stood up, fire in her red eyes. As she reached for her control panel to contact her armies, the building shook as a blast glanced off the palace's shield, marking the arrival of a fleet of Antares-marked ships. "How dare they?!"

"We cannot send any messages, Mother. They are blocking us."

Mars stared at the ship overhead, mind desperately reaching for her beloved wife planets away. Venus's thoughts were in chaos, in a war mode she only reluctantly assumed, as ships she could not identify bombed her beloved planet. Mars felt Venus's pain as one of the smaller domes over Sunrise Bay cracked, poisonous gases leaking in and suffocating her people. Mars gasped as she was forcefully ejected from her wife's mind as Venus raised a shield around her planet, drawing on the power of the Heart Shock Crystal to protect her people.

"Venus is under assault as well," Mars whispered, feeling the Fire Dust Crystal pulsing at her breast, eager to fight the invaders. "What is the status of our fleet?"

"Most of the ships are over Io, massing for an attack on Uranus," Akane whispered. "There is only a skeleton fleet here to protect you, Mother. Most of them have already been disabled and most of their crew taken prisoner by the invading ships. Our people have already gone into the underground shelters to wait for the battle to end."

Mars stared at the ships on the screen as they loomed closer, coming into orbit over Mars while two of them split off to subdue Phobos and Deimos and eliminate the last of the planetary defense systems. In the back of her mind, she felt Venus scream as the ships destroyed Sunrise Bay and broke through her barriers, her wife desperate to save her people. She could feel Minako's pain as she called the ships and offered a surrender, begging them not to kill any more of her people. Rei felt tears fill her eyes as she reached out and opened a channel to the orbiting ships.

"This is Sailor Mars hailing the Antarean-marked ships from Uranus. Cease your attack on my planet and I will surrender to you." She closed the connection and waited for an answer.

Her daughters turned, most of them shocked at her announcement, but Akane hung her head. "Venus has surrendered," the miko whispered. "Mother cannot suffer the death of her people. There are no Princesses to help her. She has already been taken prisoner by the Uranian fleet."

The speaker crackled to life as Akane's words sunk in, holoprojector presenting no image, and the Princesses silenced to hear the message. _"Queen of Mars, you will surrender to us and help us take control of your planet. We know that you have had interactions with the Queen of Antares recently and that the High Priestess of Crystal Tokyo is with you. Both of you will transport to our ship and then you will help us find your eldest daughter, Senshi of Antares. We will also take your daughter Chiyoko and her wife if present into custody. If we think you are being less than honest with us, ten of your people will die every minute until your attitude improves. You have ten minutes."_

Rei shook her head. "Akane . . ."

"I know, Mother. I was prepared to be captured with you. However, you cannot let them have Matsurika. She and Rikaze must return to Antares and rally the armies and the War Queens against these invaders. Juri and Kikyo are not strong enough to lead them. Juri has only just given birth and she cannot leave, but those armies could challenge the Uranian fleet. That is why they demand that you help capture her."

"Why do they want me?" Chiyoko asked. "I am the Senshi of Hamal, not an important system, and I am not very powerful."

"They are not after you," her wife whispered, garnet eyes dark. "They want me. My mothers are safe on the Moon and this fleet cannot breach the Earth/Moon border to control them. They also fear Setsuna's father. But Hades will not interfere if Setsuna tells him not to, and she will not attack if they control one of her daughters. Most of my sisters are safe with her or out of the system."

"How can we stop this? How can Matsuriko and Rikaze escape back to their system? What are the rest of us supposed to do?"

Akane touched her mother's arm and leaned closer. "You must be captured, Mother. All of the Inner Senshi will be. At some point, you will have to help Neptune escape so she can bring her wife back and end this madness. I will go with you to help and Matsurika will return to Antares with Rikaze in a way that the invaders will see them leave but be helpless to stop them." Turning back to her sisters, Akane thought for a second before she addressed them. Her special bond with the Kami of the planets let her see actions that would lead to favorable outcomes and none of her sisters doubted her visions. "Setsuko, it would be better if your mothers stayed safe on the Moon and did not try to interfere. They would obliterate the Uranians and leave this system in even worse shape. Aya and Mika, you must join with the other Senshi out of system who are searching for Kazeko and Shousha and the Triplets. When those five are found, their mother will be near them. You have to be ready for Neptune's arrival."

"How can we find her without your help, Akane?"

"You cannot do it with my help, Koyama. You must band together with any of the other Senshi daughters and search for her. She must be told what her Chancellor is doing. The four of us will transport to the Uranian ships and wait for destiny to weave her web. Matsurika, there is a small personal ship waiting at the back of the palace. It belongs to a minor Lord and is a pleasure vehicle. Take that and head for Antares to rally your people. We will be waiting when you return."

* * *

To be Continued . . . . . 


	3. Jupiter's Sacrifice

**Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose**

**Title: **Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose  
**Author:** kazeko  
**Show:** Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon  
**Series: **Crystals of Love: Tales of the Heart from Crystal Tokyo  
**Multipart:** yes  
**Chapters: **3  
**Couple(s): **Haruka/Michiru  
**Time:** Crystal Tokyo, a thousand years or so after the Black Moon Family

**Timeline: **"A Child of Darkness and Light", "Crystals of Love: Masks", "The Last Sacrifice: The End of the Silver Millennium", "CAS 1: The Trouble with Love is the Lovers", "CAS 2: To Defy Destiny", "Every Cloud", "Crystal Shards", "CAS 3: Unwilling Accomplice", "Our Past 1: The Reason We Fight", "CAS 4: Princess of Light", "Our Past 2: The Reason We Still Fight", "Our Past 3: The Reason We Fought", "CAS 5: One Last Shining Star", "In the Darkest Forest", "Destiny or Duty", "Dead Crystals", "Desperately Searching", "Kazeko", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 1: The Gathering", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 2: Castle in the Sky", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 3: Queen of the Moon", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 4: Separation Anxiety", "Crystals of Love: Betrayal", "Crystals of Love: Forsaken", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 5: Black Moon Family", "Crystals of Love: Destined Couple", "Crystals of Love: Horoscope", "Crystals of Love: Haiku", "Crystals of Love: Thunder Goddess", "Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose"

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them.

**Note:** Thanks for reminding me that I had more chapters to upload, Shadowcub. Here we go!

* * *

Chapter 3: Jupiter's Sacrifice

* * *

"_We have taken Venus and Mercury with little resistance, and the messages from Saturn indicates total surrender. We have left Sailor Saturn in charge thanks to the lucky capture of her wife off-world, so she will not cross us. After a brief battle with a skeleton fleet and the planetary defense systems, Mars's queen surrendered herself, her daughter the priestess, and her daughter who married Pluto's child, but the queens of Antares managed to escape in a personal luxury ship. We have yet to find them."_

"What of Jupiter?"

The image of the Chamberlain shrugged. _"The battle continues, Chancellor. We have disabled a great deal of the fleet, but we have not been able to capture any Senshi or Princesses. We were hoping that you had been able to find Sailor Mercury on Neptune or one of her daughters so we can force the surrender of the Senshi Queen. Otherwise, the Martian and Jupiterian combined fleet may weaken us beyond recovery."_

"Which Senshi are the daughters of Mercury and Jupiter?"

The image of the Chamberlain consulted a pad in her hand. _"Hakuchou of Polaris is married to Yuriko daughter of Asakaze and Rikuriko. They are in the Pleiades system. Ameko of Sirius is married to Kimiko daughter of the Sagittarian Queens and they are in the Sirian system. Noriko of Altair is married to Masako daughter of Michiru and Haruka, but Masako is not one of the Princesses of Uranus so they are probably on Neptune with the Queen. Kae of Spica is married to Yuko also of Sagittarius and also in that system currently. There is little information on their younger daughters, but it is believed that they are with the Asteroid Senshi on the Earth and Moon. Have you captured any of the Princesses of Neptune?"_

"We have met with Kotori of Mizar and Kaichou of Alcor, but the twins were born of our queen so we are entertaining them and not detaining them. Masako may be among the prisoners from Triton. If her wife is with her, we can use Noriko to force her mother's surrender. We have not been able to locate Mercury, but she is either with her wife or Queen and is of little threat. We only need one bargaining tool to gain control of the planets of this system. When our beloved queen or the Triplets return to see what we have done, they will join us and help us take the Earth and the Moon. Then the entire Silver Millennium will obey Uranian rule and we will never again have to bow to these weakling Senshi."

The image of the chamberlain bowed. _"Very good, Chancellor. We will continue our assault on the Moons of Jupiter unless you call us with news of Masako and Noriko."_

* * *

Jupiter stared at the screen, green eyes dull and sad. After so many centuries of peace and happiness, how could something like this happen? Watching the battle between the combined fleets of Mars and Jupiter and the Antarean invaders, she hung her head and sighed. "I used to be so good at this," she whispered. "I don't want to fight anymore."

"I know, my love." Ami wrapped her arms around Makoto's waist and rested her head on the taller woman's back. "I can't believe that Kikyo and Juri would lose control of their people so soon after Matsurika and Rikaze left to visit Mars."

"They don't fight like Antareans," Jupiter whispered. "They fight like Haruka would. I think the Antarean markings are supposed to throw the Queen off. These ships are from Uranus. Mars and Venus have already fallen, and Saturn as well. Setsuna is on the Moon trying to think of a way to fight back, but we are the last defense. Without this fleet, the Earth and Moon will be defenseless."

"I heard that they captured not only Mars but two of her daughters, as well. When they took Neptune, they also took Kotori, Kaichou, probably Michie and possibly Masako."

"No," Makoto whispered, falling to her seat. "Noriko? They can't have Noriko, Ami. Please tell me that she's here, that she's safe."

"I . . . I can no longer link with her, Makoto. She no longer has her crystal."

Jupiter shot to her feet and punched a few buttons on her communications panel. "Enemy ship, this is Makoto, Queen of Jupiter. Please cease your attack at once and let me speak to my daughter."

* * *

The Chamberlain nodded, watching as her ships stopped firing, regrouping around the flagship as the Chancellor patched a channel through her communications to the control room on Jupiter's moon Io. She watched the communication as Jupiter's daughter Noriko was shoved in front of the holoprojector. 

"Noriko?"

"Mother?"

"Are you okay?" Jupiter's green eyes were dark, almost black, with her anger and fear. "Have they hurt you?"

"It was so unexpected . . . I thought we were safe on Neptune. Mother, they're not from Antares."

"I know. They're the threat from Uranus we only recently learned of. Who else have they captured?"

"My wife, Kaichou and Kotori, Rei, Minako, Akane, Chiyoko, Setsuko, and I think Akari and Akiko. They also have Michiru but she is being held somewhere else. I don't think they're treating her kindly."

Jupiter clenched her fists, eyes brimming with tears. "Okay, Chancellor, you win. The Fleet of Jupiter and Mars will stand down if you release my daughter and her wife."

The image of the Chancellor, cold and perfect, filled the screen. "Princess Masako has come to no harm, daughter of Uranus that she is. We had every intention of releasing her. But your daughter is another matter. I am sure that you have sent Lady Mercury away, so how can we be sure that you will not begin your attacks once more when your daughter is safe?" The woman knew that she had won, and the Chamberlain smiled.

Jupiter slammed her fist onto the console, static breaking her image for a moment. "You think I would attack you while you held my sisters?!"

"I think that I do not know what you would do. We never expected Queen Neptune to break our queen's heart so completely, but she has. None of you Senshi are predictable anymore. I will release your daughter in exchange for you."

"On one condition, Chancellor. When I arrive on your ship, I will give you my crystal willingly but you must promise to let me see my sisters, including Neptune, before you lock me up or whatever."

The mortal considered the offer, finally deciding that a crystal-less Senshi could be no threat. "Very well. Send your troops home. My ship will be to Io within two solar hours. Be prepared to surrender."

* * *

Jupiter shoved Mercury into her servant's arms, fighting her tears as she kissed the smaller woman. "Go, Ami. I cannot let her have you. I know that Michiru is being mistreated if this fleet is from Uranus. The only thing that can stop them now is finding Haruka and bringing her back. Go to Earth, to that place we made, and wait for my call. We will only get one chance at this, so you have to be ready." 

"Will they remember?"

"They have to. It's Michiru's only hope. Aishiteru, Ami."

"Aishiteru, Makoto."

* * *

Noriko followed Masako onto the waiting shuttle, nodding to her mother as she passed. Jupiter had yet to detransform, proud and tall as she followed the guards deeper into the ship, none of them brave enough to touch her. 

The Chancellor of Uranus met Jupiter at the entrance to the detention cells, the tall woman cold and sharp. "You required an audience with Neptune. I have assembled the other Senshi so that you can assure yourself that they are all safe. Then I can assume that you will relinquish your crystal and join your sisters in their cells." Jupiter nodded sharply. "Very well. Follow me."

The Chancellor, Senshi, and guards wound their way down the hallways to a large door at the back of the detention area, closely guarded and very secure. The Chancellor touched the palm pad and stared into a retinal scanner, typing a code before the door would admit her. As the door irised open, Jupiter shrank back from the wave of despair that suffused her, drowning out the faint mind-brushes of her sister Senshi. "Michiru . . ." she breathed, emerald eyes focusing on the bound woman shackled to the back wall, matted hair covering her face and hiding her tears. She had been beaten, her will broken and her heart dead, mind closed to Jupiter's tentative probe. All she could see was an image of Uranus from the Silver Millennium, dying on the cold ground outside the Moon Palace.

"It's not your fault," Jupiter whispered, kneeling beside the woman as the Chancellor stood back. In the back of her mind, she sensed the other Senshi preparing themselves, waiting for the signal.

"It's nothing but my fault," the despairing woman whispered. Her clothing, mere peasant rags, were torn and bloody, every movement an agony for her. "I chased her away."

Jupiter looked up, hatred in her eyes as they met the Chancellor's. "You have no right to touch a Queen of Crystal Tokyo! Even as a prisoner of war she has rights!" Out of the corner of her eye, she counted the gathered Senshi, all of them quiet as they watched the exchange. Mars and Venus shared one cell, possibly having tricked the guards into that courtesy. Akane was beside her mothers, golden eyes full of a knowledge and power that none of the other Senshi fully understood. Setsuko and Chiyoko shared the next cell, with the four leaders of the Asteroid Senshi next. The seven Orionis were also there, separated into seven separate cells with their wives, but Jupiter knew that they had allowed themselves to be captured. Shioko and Hotaru shared the last cell, with Setsuna, Ailan, Ami, and the Moon Royal Family conspicuously absent.

"She might as well have killed our queen! Queen Haruka has been missing for fifty years thanks to this whore and she will be punished for the pain she caused. The rest of you Senshi are insurance against the Moon, but we will soon control this entire Solar System and rule it as Queen Haruka would want!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it!"

"Enough!" The Chancellor stepped forward and held out her hand. "Give me your crystal, weakling! The time for talking is over."

"I agree." Jupiter turned back to Neptune as she released her power, letting the Thunder Cry Crystal form in her palm. "Michiru, do you still love her?"

"Of course," she whispered, dark eyes regaining some of their aqua color.

"Then go find her." Leaning forward, she kissed the others Senshi's forehead, a symbol appearing above her brow. The guards stepped back as the symbol of each Senshi's star or planet appeared on their foreheads, Makoto tightening her fingers around her stone. "Go find her and save us all." Mind linking with Ami's, Makoto poured her power into her stone, the other Senshi's strength joining hers and activating an old emergency transport mechanism they had programmed in centuries earlier. The Chancellor stepped forward as a brilliant multi-colored light embraced the injured Senshi and transported her far away from the people of her wife's harsh planet.

Smiling, Makoto turned back to her stunned captor and handed the Chancellor her Planet Crystal. "Here you are; a deal's a deal."

"You planned this . . ."

"You didn't seriously think that our power was only in our stones, did you?"

The Chancellor slammed her fist into the nearest wall, fury in her usually-cold features. "I knew you would try something! Put them all in separate cells as far away from each other as possible! And find that stupid Senshi!"

* * *

To be continued . . . 


	4. Mother and Child

**Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose**

**Title: **Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose  
**Author:** kazeko  
**Show:** Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon  
**Series: **Crystals of Love: Tales of the Heart from Crystal Tokyo  
**Multipart:** yes  
**Chapters: **4  
**Couple(s): **Haruka/Michiru  
**Time:** Crystal Tokyo, a thousand years or so after the Black Moon Family

**Timeline: **"A Child of Darkness and Light", "Crystals of Love: Masks", "The Last Sacrifice: The End of the Silver Millennium", "CAS 1: The Trouble with Love is the Lovers", "CAS 2: To Defy Destiny", "Every Cloud", "Crystal Shards", "CAS 3: Unwilling Accomplice", "Our Past 1: The Reason We Fight", "CAS 4: Princess of Light", "Our Past 2: The Reason We Still Fight", "Our Past 3: The Reason We Fought", "CAS 5: One Last Shining Star", "In the Darkest Forest", "Destiny or Duty", "Dead Crystals", "Desperately Searching", "Kazeko", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 1: The Gathering", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 2: Castle in the Sky", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 3: Queen of the Moon", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 4: Separation Anxiety", "Crystals of Love: Betrayal", "Crystals of Love: Forsaken", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 5: Black Moon Family", "Crystals of Love: Destined Couple", "Crystals of Love: Horoscope", "Crystals of Love: Haiku", "Crystals of Love: Thunder Goddess", "Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose"

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them.

* * *

Chapter 4: Mother and Child

* * *

Aya and Mika helped the shaking Senshi to her feet, wincing at the raw marks on Michiru's wrists where she had been bound. Carefully, they carried her to the small hut where they were hiding with Ami in the peasant section of Tokyo. Even if the Uranians managed to breach so far, it was unlikely that they would find the Senshi. 

Ami sighed as she scanned Michiru, placing her hands on the other woman's chest as she carefully rejoined torn flesh, stopped the cuts that were still bleeding, and eased pressure on bruised muscles. "I cannot completely heal you, Michiru, without Makoto's help."

"I do not want to be fully healed," the other senshi retorted. "Just take me to where you found Haruka's power signature and I will search for her."

"Without your stone you cannot survive in the vacuum of that asteroid," Mika pointed out. "Aya and I will have to accompany you on your search."

"I must do this alone," Michiru whispered. "Haruka will not reveal herself to someone not of her family."

"Then Shousha and I will go with you, Mother." Michiru looked up, shocked, as her firstborn daughter entered the small hut, accompanied by her wife. Kazeko and Shousha carried the souls of Haruka and Michiru's mothers from the Silver Millennium, but they had already fallen in love and built a life together in Crystal Tokyo before they allowed their parents to return their memories. Their past lives rarely intruded on the present, except that they were grateful for the opportunity to live the love they had been denied as Queens of the Silver Millennium.

"Kazeko! I thought you were somewhere near Deneb right now."

"After hearing of the attack on Neptune, I returned. I knew that you would need my help, so Shousha and I were careful to have our stones carried by powerless servants of her court so that our presence could not be detected. We followed Mika and Aya on their search through the Outer Solar System and detected traces of not only Mother but the Triplets as well. I believe that they are traveling with her to protect her from her own nature. They are needed to help restore order to Uranus, as well."

"They are respected as the Princesses of Uranus," Ami agreed. "Michiru, as soon as you are healed enough to travel, you have to find your wife. I do not think that there are enough free Senshi in the system to oppose the Chancellor's fleet. I cannot risk contacting the Queen while she is holding the Barrier in place."

"She created the barrier? That hasn't been used since the Black Moon Family attacked."

"Her daughters are helping her, but I do not know how long it will hold. Her son is helping his father gather the army in case the attackers land on Earth, but that is a last resort. As far as I know, the Sagittarians and their Leoan wives are assisting with the barrier, but they are all unaccustomed to the strain of a constant shield. It will not last long. With the Jupiter fleet defeated, the Moon and Earth are all that's left."

Michiru struggled to her feet, letting her daughter help her up as she turned to the door. "Take me to the Kuiper Belt, Kazeko. We need to find your mother as soon as possible. Ami, can you handle things here for a while?"

The Senshi of Mercury nodded, closing her computer. "I do not think you should go, but if you have Kazeko and Shousha with you I know you're in good hands."

* * *

Amaya, Adana, and Asami sat in a row, facing the tiny pinprick of light they knew to be Sol, immune to the cold and vacuum of their home for the last fifty or so years. In the caves behind them, protected by their Senshi powers, their mother slept peacefully, her dreams plagued by images of their birth mother from before Crystal Tokyo. In fifty years she had barely spoken a full sentence, her silence never bothering her Princesses. The three Senshi drew power from a three-star system they rarely visited, having no people there to worry about, and they had spent most of their lives with Haruka. They watched over her planet, letting her keep her people in line while they dealt with the daily administration duties that would bore her. The Queen of Neptune had never mastered the art of delegation, her obsession with her planet driving her wife to one of the larger asteroids of the Kuiper Belt. 

Amaya stood, her pale silvery gold hair hanging past her waist, eyes watching a nearby asteroid as its orbit approached their temporary home. "We will need to bounce that one away, as well. I wonder if this asteroid is too prone to collision. We might need to move to another chunk of rock."

Asami sighed and crossed her arms over her legs and rested her head on her knees, long boots touching her chin. "I am sick of living out here, sisters. I have a feeling that something is happening on Uranus that we should be stopping. That Chancellor is only human, after all, and she cannot be trusted to always do the correct thing."

Adana stood up, walking away from her sisters, sensing something in the air that she could not identify. She almost remembered what that brush of power meant . . . the middle sister of the triplets closed her eyes and sighed, wrapped in a warmth she had missed since her childhood. "Kazeko . . ." she whispered.

Asami and Amaya joined their sister as a whirlwind of pink rose petals filled the asteroid, Kazeko, Shousha, and a third woman appearing in the center of the cloud. The triplets squealed and surrounded their sister and sister-in-law, asking them questions and greeting them, none of them noticing the ragged woman slip off toward the cave behind them.

Michiru, limping from her injuries, entered the dark cave, the crystal shard Kazeko had given her to let her breathe on the asteroid on a string around her neck. She paused a moment, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness, and knelt beside the prone form of her sleeping wife. Taking Haruka's hands, ignoring the thrill of warmth and belonging that suffused her, Michiru closed her eyes and slipped into her wife's dreams.

* * *

Haruka twirled the flower between her fingers, watching the young senshi chase each other through the park, the blanket beside her empty. Once upon a time, the wind senshi would never have been alone on that blanket, her beloved aqua-haired queen ever by her side. Now Michiru was gone, having chosen her planet over her wife, ignoring Haruka's needs in a way she never had before. 

The other Senshi slowly vanished as a cloud of pink rose petals filled the area, Haruka looking up as a woman with long, flowing hair appeared before her. Haruka looked down as a single pink rose landed in her lap, innocent and soft, and she raised the flower to her nose. One gentle sniff shocked her, shattering her dream, the scent of Michiru surrounding her instead of the rose smell she was expecting. Looking up, the wind senshi found herself facing her beloved wife, standing before her for the first time in fifty years.

"Michiru . . ."

The other woman reached out to take Haruka's hands, tears in her eyes. "I never meant to drive you away, Haruka," Michiru whispered. "Aishiteru, Ruka. Please come home; I can't live without you."

Haruka reached for Michiru's cheek, pulling her fingers away and staring at the blood on her hand. Looking up again, she found that her wife had changed to a large pink rose, blood dripping from the edges of the petals. Remembering that she was dreaming, Haruka sighed and closed her eyes, pulling herself out of the dream.

Cursing, Haruka opened her eyes, finding herself in her dark cave once more. Alone. Looking down at her hands, Haruka sighed. "Blood again," she whispered. "Michiru's blood . . . always on my hands."

A whimper of pain behind her shocked the senshi, and she spun around, shocked to find herself facing Michiru, the other woman doubled over in pain. Michiru was holding her stomach, tears trailing down her cheeks as she tried not to show the agony she was feeling from her partially-healed injuries. Haruka felt tears fill her own eyes as she leaned over and pulled the Neptunian Senshi into her arms, kissing her forehead as she slipped into Michiru's mind. Their bond, dormant for so long, flared to life once more, and both women relaxed into the familiarity of it. Haruka pulled her wife closer, crying, as she relived the torture Michiru had suffered at the hands of the Uranian Chancellor, her power filling the smaller woman and healing her of the physical remnants of her capture.

Haruka pulled away, her lips meeting Michiru's as their minds rejoined, reforging their lover's bond anew. In her mind, Michiru heard Haruka's words, floating on the sea of bliss she rode. _"Oh Michi . . . I forgive you, my only love. I only wanted you to see me again, to be my wife again."_

"_I will, Ruka. I will."_

* * *

To be continued . . . 


	5. Akane's Path

**Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose**

**Title: **Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose  
**Author:** kazeko  
**Show:** Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon  
**Series: **Crystals of Love: Tales of the Heart from Crystal Tokyo  
**Multipart:** yes  
**Chapters: **5  
**Couple(s): **Haruka/Michiru  
**Time:** Crystal Tokyo, a thousand years or so after the Black Moon Family

**Timeline: **"A Child of Darkness and Light", "Crystals of Love: Masks", "The Last Sacrifice: The End of the Silver Millennium", "CAS 1: The Trouble with Love is the Lovers", "CAS 2: To Defy Destiny", "Every Cloud", "Crystal Shards", "CAS 3: Unwilling Accomplice", "Our Past 1: The Reason We Fight", "CAS 4: Princess of Light", "Our Past 2: The Reason We Still Fight", "Our Past 3: The Reason We Fought", "CAS 5: One Last Shining Star", "In the Darkest Forest", "Destiny or Duty", "Dead Crystals", "Desperately Searching", "Kazeko", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 1: The Gathering", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 2: Castle in the Sky", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 3: Queen of the Moon", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 4: Separation Anxiety", "Crystals of Love: Betrayal", "Crystals of Love: Forsaken", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 5: Black Moon Family", "Crystals of Love: Destined Couple", "Crystals of Love: Horoscope", "Crystals of Love: Haiku", "Crystals of Love: Thunder Goddess", "Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose"

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them.

* * *

Chapter 5: Akane's Path

* * *

Asami laughed with her sisters as she served them her famous soup, joining them for a brief meal during the briefer moments of daylight on the asteroid. They talked quietly, comparing their lives over the last fifty or so years, Shousha surprising them with news of her pregnancy. All three of them reached over and touched her belly, sensing the new life within, and congratulating the pair for finally getting around to having a child. In the silence that followed, Kazeko placed her bowl down and glanced over her shoulder at the cave system Haruka lived in. "She has been in there a long time." 

"Our mothers need time to reconcile their differences from the last few hundred years," Adana replied, resisting the urge to look over her shoulder. "I have felt both of their pain fade as we have waited, so I think that they are both healing. Soon they will return to us and we can go save Uranus."

"We will need to join the Antarean fleet first." All five women stood as Haruka and Michiru emerged from the caves, one a senshi and one still clothed in peasant rags. Both were smiling, truly happy for the first time in centuries, and the triplets embraced their parents, ready and willing to take control of their kingdom again. The Princesses were tired of living on the lonely asteroid, away from the Senshi they had been courting when they left, away from the royal life they loved. Haruka's eyes darkened as she glanced at her wife, arm tightening around Michiru's waist. "And the Chancellor will learn what a bad idea it is to cause a war against my wife, sisters, and daughters."

* * *

Minako sat in the back of her cell, knees pulled to her chin, rocking back and forth slowly. She had become so dependant on her crystal in the last thousand or so years that she it was hard for her to access her power without it. She was losing her link to Rei and it was killing her. In her mind, faint and fading, Rei's voice whispered words of encouragement to her. _"My love . . . it will be okay. Michiru will find Haruka and she will free us."_

"_Why didn't we break out when we had the chance?"_

"_Because the Chancellor would have attacked Earth and the Moon as soon as her insurance was gone, and the Queen would be unable to hold her off. You can feel Serenity, feel her straining to hold the shield and protect her people. With us here, our planets and the mortals we rule are safe for the duration of this war. We simply have lost access to some of the innate power we possessed as Senshi."_

"_How do we get it back? Rei . . . I'll go mad in here without you."_

Rei caressed her wife with her mind, soothing the distraught Senshi. _"Akane taught me a meditative trance a long time ago to help me access my inner fire. You should use it to calm yourself and relax until Michiru and Haruka return."_

"_What if they don't?"_

"_Minako! Calm yourself! Let me put you in a trance."_

"_Rei, I don't want to be here! They destroyed Sunrise Bay . . . we had so many good times there . . . our youngest daughter was born there . . ."_

"_I know," _Rei whispered. _"Let me help you, my love."_

* * *

Akane opened her golden eyes, staring at nothing as she felt her mother struggle to enter a meditative trance to save her sanity. "She will not survive here long," she whispered, knowing that her birth mother would hear her. 

"I know. We have to get her out of here. I let myself be captured to protect her from this horror, but she cannot be alone. I wish we had been left in the same cell."

"We had to get Michiru out of here," Akane returned, images of the future floating through her mind. She could see so many different possibilities, all flying around, all undecided, as the future waited for a critical event to pick the direction the galaxy would fall. The Chancellor was an agent of Chaos, meant to awaken the Senshi to the power they had been losing to complacency, but if Haruka and Michiru could not reunite, all would be for naught. Akane sometimes hated the power she had been given and hated being chosen as an agent of Balance, but the ability to see the future, the path to the future, and read people's auras had to come with a price.

The miko gasped as the possible futures in her mind solidified to one, to the only possibility available, and she smiled at her mother's question. "I'm fine, Mother. The future has been set at last. I have been waiting to see where our galaxy would step next, and that path is at last marked." She would say no more.

* * *

The Chancellor stood on her bridge, outwardly stoic as she watched the Senshi of Pluto begin to lose her composure as she stared at her daughter on the Antares-marked ship. Setsuko, her coloring identical to her mother's, shook her head, unable to speak with the guards around her. She was covered in minor cuts and small bruises, many obtained when she was forcefully separated from her wife, and she was gaunt from days of deprivation. Her mother was trying not to cry at her daughter's state, knowing what the Chancellor would want from her. 

"I will exchange this pathetic child for you, Queen Pluto, and you can help me gain control of your planet. I know that your wife will never surrender, no matter the cost, but since she controls nothing, she is useless to me. When can we expect you?"

Pluto gathered herself and moved to speak, freezing as a warning beeped from the console beside her. Setsuko straightened as a power filled her, sensing her fellow Senshi also respond to the strange presence. The Chancellor stepped forward, knowing that when the Senshi suddenly acted in tandem, something was going to happen. The Queen of Pluto smiled as she turned back to the screen. "I believe someone wants to talk to you. We will speak when she is done."

"Madame Chancellor, a fleet of ships has appeared near the Earth System."

The Chancellor turned to look at her operations chief as the screen blanked. "Where are they from?"

"They are marked Antarean."

The woman's eyes widened as she glanced at Setsuko, relaxing as a smile spread across her face. "It seems that Matsurika returned to her planet after all. It does not matter. I hold her mothers and sisters, so she will never attack us."

"They wish to send a representative to speak with you. Actually, two."

"Very well. I will receive them in the main bay." She turned to the guards and waved one hand. "Take the Senshi back to her cell and check on the others. Put them all in separate rooms, wives as far away from each other as possible. I do not want another incident. It will take a while for the ships to get close enough for the representatives to arrive, and I expect all of my officers there, including the Chamberlain."

Setsuko grinned as she passed the Chancellor, and the grey-haired woman shivered at the knowledge in those red eyes. She hated dealing with Senshi.

* * *

To be continued . . . 


	6. Revelations

**Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose**

**Title: **Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose  
**Author:** kazeko  
**Show:** Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon  
**Series: **Crystals of Love: Tales of the Heart from Crystal Tokyo  
**Multipart:** yes  
**Chapters: **6  
**Couple(s): **Haruka/Michiru  
**Time:** Crystal Tokyo, a thousand years or so after the Black Moon Family

**Timeline: **"A Child of Darkness and Light", "Crystals of Love: Masks", "The Last Sacrifice: The End of the Silver Millennium", "CAS 1: The Trouble with Love is the Lovers", "CAS 2: To Defy Destiny", "Every Cloud", "Crystal Shards", "CAS 3: Unwilling Accomplice", "Our Past 1: The Reason We Fight", "CAS 4: Princess of Light", "Our Past 2: The Reason We Still Fight", "Our Past 3: The Reason We Fought", "CAS 5: One Last Shining Star", "In the Darkest Forest", "Destiny or Duty", "Dead Crystals", "Desperately Searching", "Kazeko", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 1: The Gathering", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 2: Castle in the Sky", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 3: Queen of the Moon", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 4: Separation Anxiety", "Crystals of Love: Betrayal", "Crystals of Love: Forsaken", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 5: Black Moon Family", "Crystals of Love: Destined Couple", "Crystals of Love: Horoscope", "Crystals of Love: Haiku", "Crystals of Love: Thunder Goddess", "Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose"

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them.

* * *

Chapter 6: Revelations

* * *

Minako was lost in a maze of memories, darkness flashing scenes of battles and pain, screams and battle cries filling the air. She looked down, finding herself standing in a pool of blood, Senshi boots splattered with the dark liquid. She fell to her knees and began to cry, her tears shattering the dark world, and silence filled the area as her tears dried. She looked up, shocked to find herself facing a younger version of herself, dressed in her first fuku, glowing with an orange-tinted golden light. She stood, wiping her tears away, as she faced her smiling younger self. "Why are you here?" 

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to find you."

"I don't understand."

The other senshi smiled and shook her head. "You wanted to find your power," she whispered, reaching for Minako's hand. "Your wife put you in this trance to find me. It is a soul trance, a very powerful one. Either you'll find your answer or you'll become lost in your mind for a very long time."

"How often has Rei put herself in this trance?"

"Very often, but she has never failed to exit. She would not have put you here if she thought that you could not emerge. We need to find your power."

"I don't think I have any without the crystal."

The other Senshi, the first Sailor Venus, smiled as she took Minako's hand. "I know that you have something left, something of your own, and we will find it."

* * *

Rei sat up, staring at the wall that separated her from her wife, daughter echoing her actions. "Minako . . ." she whispered, feeling their bond flare to life, images of her life with the blonde Senshi filling her mind. She closed her eyes, reliving the moment that defined their lives together, the morning after Setsuna finally returned their memories. 

_On the top of a hill in Tokyo, a young priestess awoke, heart pounding fiercely. The image of Sailor Venus reaching desperately for her as the only world they knew fell to pieces around them brought tears to Rei's eyes, and she sat for a moment to clear her mind and calm her heart. "Minako," she whispered. "I had no idea. What have we lost?" Knowing that she would never get back to sleep, Rei changed into her miko clothes and headed outside, sitting on the steps leading away from the shrine. She briefly considered praying to the Sacred Flame, but she dismissed that thought as quickly as she conceived it. Her emotions were too wild, too raw, and she knew she could not find solace in those flickering orange-yellow depths. _

_Image after image of her former life filled her mind, most of them side-by-side or arm-in-arm with the stunning heir to the Venusian throne. Some of the memories were in her bed, and she felt her pulse quicken at the feelings. "Now I know why you're called the Goddess of Love," she whispered. "You earned that. I remember Haruka and Michiru convincing us not to give up our love for anything, but it looks like time did what our fathers could not. Back then it was so easy, and I knew that I loved you, but how can I show you now what I feel? How can I make you see that I've fallen in love with you again even before Setsuna returned our memories? How can I live without you, Minako? How can I keep what I never had?"_

_She could sense the world awaken as the sun crested the eastern horizon, rising out of the sea and coloring the world in orangey-gold, the color her beloved had taken as her own. Rei looked over her shoulder at the temple she had called home since her mother died, and she wondered if she should go prepare breakfast or pray. The priestess stood to leave, halting her retreat as she caught the barest flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. She watched, a tentative smile spreading across her face, as the dawn brought a golden-haired beauty to Hikawa Shrine. She had not been the only one to remember her past._

_Minako jumped into Rei's arms, both women crying. "Rei," she whispered. "I am so sorry. I should have told you before we grew so far apart."_

"_Why didn't you Minako?"_

"_Because you've always been in love with Usagi, and I can't compete with our princess."_

_Rei pulled away, looking into Venus's blue eyes. "Oh, Minako. You don't understand. I'm not in love with Usagi. After we returned from Haruka-san's wish, from the world where Usagi was my girl, I realized that she and Mamoru-kun were and are destined for each other. I do love her, all senshi do, but I've never been in love with her."_

"_I think I understand," Minako smiled. "We all love her, even Haruka-san and Michiru-san, though they try their best to hide it. It just seems that you love her more."_

_Rei laughed. "Do you think I love Usagi more than Ami-chan does? No! But she doesn't express her emotions as vividly as I do."_

"_Apparently it's enough for Mako-chan."_

_Rei smiled. "Do I show it enough for you? I know that we aren't the same princesses that died in the Silver Millennium, but my feelings are the same as hers."_

"_Mine certainly haven't changed," Minako whispered. "Aishiteru, Rei."_

"_Mo, Aishiteru, Minako." Rei leaned down and let her lips touch the blonde's, and a fire she had never before known filled her frame. She pulled Minako closer as she sent a brief prayer to whichever god had convinced Setsuna to return her memories and her lover. Regardless of what she told Setsuna the day Ailan appeared, she needed her memories. And she needed Minako._

Rei felt that love fill her again, a projection from Minako, and she reached for her wife, reached for the blazing star through the wall, for the power that had been absent from her life for centuries. In her mind, Minako returned, the Minako she had fallen in love with, and she reached for her . . . needing her closer . . . missing her warmth . . . Akane smiled as she waved her hand, lending what power her mothers needed to be reunited. Rei smiled as she vanished, joining her wife in the next room.

A brilliant red-gold light filled the cell, blinding the guards as Mars and Venus met at last, their combined power shorting the circuits of the cell and cutting power to their half of the ship. The guards, knocked unconscious by the force of the blast, never managed to get off a message to the bridge.

Rei leaned back, Minako safe in her arms, tears on her cheeks. "Minako . . ."

"It was the memory of finding out that you love me that let me find my power," she whispered. "Did you see it?"

"Yes, I did," Rei whispered. "It's been a long time since I felt your power, Minako."

"I wasn't strong enough to save Sunrise Bay," Minako reflected, eyes golden with her newfound strength, "but together we can save the rest of Crystal Tokyo."

* * *

The Chancellor smiled as she waited to receive the queen from Antares, knowing that she had the upper hand in any negotiations and that the Senshi would not last much longer against the power of Uranus that she wielded. Once Antares bowed to her great strength and the banner of Uranus, then the Moon and Earth would fall quickly. She would enjoy bringing honor and glory to the people of Uranus, avenging the memory of Queen Haruka, the heart and soul of her planet. 

A guard ran through the door leading to the brig wing, frantic, eyes clouded. He turned toward the Chancellor, obviously unable to clearly see her, and the woman knew that something had gone wrong with the Senshi. "Chancellor! One of the Senshi managed to get into her wife's cell. There was a blinding light and the entire detention wing lost power! Madame, what shall we do?"

The Chancellor touched the guard, calming him, eager to solve the problem before the queens of Antares arrived. "We need not worry. When the detention wing loses power, each cell has a set of metal bars that close off each cell and another set that closes off each room. The entrance is still operational so they cannot escape. Have the Security Chief arrange for a team of engineers to check the problem and see what they can do and double the guard in this wing. The Senshi cannot escape in any case. And have the medical staff look at your eyes after you dispatch my orders." She waved her hands and turned away, mind already moving to the next issue. "I suppose I shouldn't have trusted commoners to anticipate the actions of the Senshi. Which of them do you suppose had the power to reunite two of the others?"

The Chamberlain pulled out her list and pointed at a name halfway down. "It had to be that yellow-eyed miko from Mars. She's the only one that has shown any power of her own without her crystal."

"Very well." The Chancellor reached over to one of her guards and took his gun, changing the setting to stun as she headed into the darkened wing. The Chamberlain followed, knowing the way without needing to see, as they headed for Akane's cell. They entered the room slowly, the Chancellor raising her arm as the lights flickered to life for just a moment. Akane grunted as the Uranian fired, falling to the floor in a crumpled heap as two of the guards following their leader rushed in and lifted the small woman, waiting for instruction. The Chancellor nodded and turned to leave, smiling as the lights powered back on for good. She knew which Senshi had escaped, so she headed for the next cell, narrowing her eyes at the sight that met her.

"I see that my generosity has been ignored once again," she snapped, watching as Mars and Venus stood, defiance in their stance. The Chancellor waved, watching both women turn white as their daughter was carried in, slung between two guards. "Do not try me, Senshi. I know who gave you the power to escape from your cell and I now know what to do to keep you in check. I know that she is the only one of you with power, so I will take her far away from you and if you act up again, I will punish her."

Mars clenched her hands into fists. "If you harm her in any way I will rip you to shreds. Give my daughter back to me."

"You will go to the cell I assign you and stay there. I will not harm her as long as you behave. Follow the guards to your new cell, Sailor Mars. I will not ask twice."

Mars reached over and embraced her wife, wiping Minako's tears away. "It's almost over," she whispered. "Akane promised that it will end soon. Be strong, koishii."

"I will."

Rei straightened and followed the guards to a new cell, stopping as her dark pink eyes locked with the Chancellor's. "Your time on this mortal plane is ending," she whispered, her dark voice ominous. "Your demise will come in a friendly face."

"I am not afraid of you, Sailor Mars."

"You should be."

* * *

To be continued . . . 


	7. Friendly Face

**Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose**

**Title: **Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose

**Author:** kazeko

**Show:** Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon

**Series: **Crystals of Love: Tales of the Heart from Crystal Tokyo

**Multipart:** yes

**Chapters: **7

**Couple(s): **Haruka/Michiru

**Time:** Crystal Tokyo, a thousand years or so after the Black Moon Family

**Timeline: **"A Child of Darkness and Light", "Crystals of Love: Masks", "The Last Sacrifice: The End of the Silver Millennium", "CAS 1: The Trouble with Love is the Lovers", "CAS 2: To Defy Destiny", "Every Cloud", "Crystal Shards", "CAS 3: Unwilling Accomplice", "Our Past 1: The Reason We Fight", "CAS 4: Princess of Light", "Our Past 2: The Reason We Still Fight", "Our Past 3: The Reason We Fought", "CAS 5: One Last Shining Star", "In the Darkest Forest", "Destiny or Duty", "Dead Crystals", "Desperately Searching", "Kazeko", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 1: The Gathering", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 2: Castle in the Sky", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 3: Queen of the Moon", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 4: Separation Anxiety", "Crystals of Love: Betrayal", "Crystals of Love: Forsaken", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 5: Black Moon Family", "Crystals of Love: Destined Couple", "Crystals of Love: Horoscope", "Crystals of Love: Haiku", "Crystals of Love: Thunder Goddess", "Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose"

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them.

* * *

Chapter 7: Friendly Face

The Chancellor smiled as a small shuttle docked with her ship, Chamberlain and an honor guard arrayed behind her. She knew that she had won if the Queens of Antares had come to meet with her, especially since she also had full control of the Senshi. Sailor Mars had been beaten for her arrogance, her wife forced to watch, demoralizing the entire Senshi group. Soon, none would dare cross her power, especially since only Mars's daughter had any real power, useless now that she was permanently sedated. In time, she would have to be reawakened, but the Chancellor would have discovered another way to control her parents by then. Queen Haruka would be revenged once Uranus ruled the Solar System and Crystal Tokyo, the upstart Queen of the Earth and Moon kneeling at the Chancellor's booted feet. She could not wait to look down on those two blonde buns knowing that she was more powerful than the Senshi.

The doors to the shuttle bay opened, two tall women emerging onto the deck. The first woman had long hair colored in red, orange, and gold, her ice blue eyes cold and piercing. She wore a golden crown and jeweled dress, marking her as the Queen of Antares, Matsurika, oldest daughter of Mars and Venus. By her side walked her wife, Rikaze, one of the younger twin daughters of Asakaze and Rikuriko of the Pleiades. She had pale green eyes and reddish gold hair, shorter than her wife's, and she wore a smaller crown on her head. She was the Senshi of Rastaban, but she ruled the Antares system with her wife. They glared at the Chancellor, waiting for her to speak, the Uranian woman vowing to beat Mars for allowing her daughter to escape and bring the Antarean fleet to fight her.

"Greetings, Queen of Antares. I was under the impression that your daughter was ruling your planets while you were visiting your mother. So sad that you were unable to join us when your mothers came aboard."

"My mothers were kidnapped by you and this solar system has been torn apart by your war. But that is not why we're here."

The Chancellor paused for a moment at that statement. "It's not? Then why are you here, Queen of Antares?"

"We had to bring someone to see you."

The pair stepped aside as three more women entered from the shuttle bay, identical triplets with silvery gold hair and pale eyes colored with the barest hint of green. All of the soldiers fell to their knees, instantly recognizing their Princesses, even the Chancellor bowing slightly. "Welcome, Princesses of Uranus. Princess Amaya, Adana, and Asami, we have missed you these long years."

"We left for good reason and return for the same," Amaya announced. "We brought you someone who is not happy with your recent actions, Chancellor."

The five women stepped aside as the last pair of women entered, every Uranian hitting one knee with head bowed. Queen Haruka of Uranus stepped onto the deck, cloaked in her golden power with her sword hanging by her side, fire in her green eyes. She was livid, her anger beating against her subjects. "Chancellor," she whispered, the word full of power and fury. The mortal woman stood, shaking, as she noticed the blue-haired woman standing proudly behind her wife. Haruka held out her hand as the gray-haired woman looked up. "Return the Sea Melody Crystal. Now."

One of the guards in the background dashed off, retrieving a large box of Senshi crystals from the Chancellor's office, handing it to Haruka. The Triplets removed their mother's stone and handed it to her, watching as she transformed into Sailor Star Neptune, smiling as her power filled her once more.

Sailor Uranus reached down and pulled the Chancellor to her feet, the mortal shaking at the fury in her Queen's eyes. "What have you done to my people in the last fifty years? I left them in your care and you spurred them to war."

"We were punishing the woman who chased you away! We barely remember your instructions after so long!"

"You had to remember nothing except to prevent my people from going to war! You have attacked and captured my sisters and their children, and threatened my queen. That is unacceptable behavior, Chancellor." She started marching to the bridge, dragging the hapless woman behind her. "You will end this war, NOW, and then you will apologize to every queen and every planet. You will spend the rest of your life paying for this attack, mortal woman, and you may never be able to repent to my wife."

Queen Uranus stepped onto the bridge, her power filling the room and cowing the mortals at the controls. Michiru and her triplet daughters followed at a distance, the Neptunian Queen amazed at the blatant display of her wife's powers. She had no idea that Haruka was capable of ruling so forcefully, never having wondered how her wife so readily subdued her warlike population. The Chamberlain, wondering how she could distance herself from the Chancellor's mistake, slid in to the room behind the Senshi, silent and unobtrusive.

Haruka waved her hand and activated the viewscreen, calling Crystal Tokyo. As she waited for a response, she activated the holo-reader and pulled up a list of prisoners. Growling, she threw the Chancellor to the floor and kicked her across the bridge, the sword on her hip glowing with her anger. "Release my sisters at once and bring them to me! If any of them have been harmed, YOU will suffer a far worse fate than I have already planned. Go."

The woman scurried off, Haruka turning to her wife and smiling as she pulled Michiru close. "I'm sorry for what happened, Michi. I never thought that she would pull something like this. That woman has always wanted power over the Senshi, but I never thought that she would disobey my wishes."

"If she hadn't, I might never have come to find you."

A beep from the console announced a message from Earth, and Haruka let her power fade somewhat as she answered the call. She smiled as Setsuna's face appeared on the screen, the other Senshi's expression matching her own. "I was right. That power we sensed was you retuning at last. Have you retrieved my daughter?" Pluto's voice trembled slightly on the last word, her worry evident in that small sound. Haruka looked at the Chamberlain, glaring, and the smaller mortal woman swallowed.

"Setsuko?"

"She . . . the Chancellor separated her from her wife and there was an altercation between the Senshi and ten of our guards. The Senshi was mildly damaged, and she has refused to eat much since she was taken from her wife . . . but she is in good shape still."

Haruka turned back to the console and typed a code, telling the fleet to stand down. "You can tell Queen Serenity that the battle is over. She can let her shields down. I know that there was a lot of damage on the other planets, so I will have Kazeko summon the Council to help with the rebuilding process. Senshi are strongest in pairs, so I will need you to help organize teams of Star Senshi to help their parents rebuild the parts of their planets that suffered from the attack. We will also have to fix up the Martian and Jupiterian fleets. My people will help with that, as part of their penance for starting this war. Matsurika has offered the services of her War Queens, for once cooperating, to get supplies to the planets and moons the most decimated. Are . . . are you guys okay down there? I can sense that Sailor Mercury is not here . . ."

"She has a secret place in the city. She knows that you have reunited with your people and I am sure that she will join you shortly to examine the Senshi and see her wife. I know that Mako-chan would never let Ami be captured if she had a choice."

"We will be expecting her."

"You said you were going to have Kazeko summon the Council . . ."

Haruka smiled at the question. "Yes, she and Shousha have returned."

Setsuna sighed and leaned on the console, smiling in relief. "I was afraid that she had been captured. As much as your people revere your daughters, their wives are not always so untouchable. Shousha was sick when she left . . . is she better now?"

"Setsu-chan, it seems that we will soon share yet another granddaughter."

Setsuna squealed in a very un-Pluto like fashion, clapping her hands. "Wonderful! I was hoping that she would get pregnant soon!" Her expression turned serious, her red eyes dark. "What about you and Michiru? Is she the one who brought you back?"

"Yes." Haruka pulled Michiru into her arms and kissed her wife's forehead. "I was lost for a long time, Setsu-chan. Michi found me and brought me home. I had no idea that so much had happened since I left, but I never plan to leave again. Uranians are an angry, violent sort of people, and they only respect power. I have to be careful to control them. I did not know that the Chancellor I named would do this. I know that many people have died, and I am sorry for that. As these centuries pass, I feel sometimes that I do not know where I belong."

"You belong here," Michiru whispered, tightening her arms around her wife's waist. "And you need never leave again."

A light cough from behind announced the presence of the other Senshi, and the pair turned, smiling at their sisters. Mars was limping, covered in cuts and bruises, and Haruka knew that they had been much worse before her crystal began to heal her. Venus was helping her wife, something in her blue eyes telling Haruka that she had been forced to watch the Chancellor beat Rei. Jupiter walked alone, carrying Akane, the young miko unconscious. The other Senshi walked behind them, smiling, hands joined with wives they had not been able to touch during their imprisonment, and Haruka smiled. "I'm glad you're all okay," she whispered, her tone and eyes hardening as her gaze fell on the groveling Chancellor.

"However, I am not pleased to see my sister Mars so abused, to see her daughter sedated, to see the pain in my sister Venus's eyes, and to see such deprivation and minor injuries among our children. I am a Senshi and will not kill you, but my Queen may not be so kind and gentle in her punishment." Haruka waved a hand at the Chamberlain, her move intended to determine the woman's loyalty. "Put her in a dark cell. She will not eat or drink until she stands before the Queen unless a Senshi takes pity on her. Go."

After a moment of hesitation, the Chamberlain gestured toward two guards and led the Chancellor toward the brig, hoping that the Queen would be kind to her when her own judgment came.

Rei sighed, finger tracing the long healing wound on her arm. She straightened, knowing that the mark would not scar, and turned her attention to the flame. She knew that Minako was still suffering after watching the guard beat her, but her wife would recover in time. She had seen much and suffered much in her time as a Senshi, and she always returned to her kind and sweet nature.

Gathering her thoughts, Rei returned to the flame and focused. She felt its power wash over her, calming her, strengthening her, and she released her anger to the heat. She released her rage and her pain, released her sadness, and she found one small spark of the miko she had once been, one spark of that purity. Smiling, she closed her eyes and released her spirit, listening for a cry of help. She found one, she found pain, and she stood, eyes closed, following the cry.

When she stopped, she was standing outside the only closed door on the prison wing, the guard having stepped aside when she approached. Sighing, knowing who was inside, Rei reached for the plate of cold food sitting on the floor and walked into the cell, her free hand glowing with her power and providing the only light in the cell.

"You are in pain."

"You should not be here. The Queen will be angry with you."

"The Queen is my sister. We are never angry at each other." Rei placed the food in front of the Chancellor. "What is your name?"

"Ayura."

"That's a nice name. Eat. I know that you are hungry. I know that your soul is in pain."

"Why would you help me after what I did? You must hate me. Your wife does."

"Senshi do not hate, as we do not kill humans. I am a miko, or I was once. The darkness you have in your soul . . . it is strange, for a human."

"I am of Uranus," the woman whispered. "I am the daughter of the Sixth War Chief, a powerful woman, and a cunning tactician. I am the mother of three girls and one boy who live with their father while I serve the Queen. My mother died when I was a child and my father was a useless whelp. I had to raise myself, to gain favor with the Queen, to do as She would wish. When we learned that the Queen of Neptune broke our fair lady's heart, we knew that we had to get revenge, somehow. We thought she would return soon or that the Princesses would hear of our plans and come to instruct us. But they never did. We were alone for fifty years. There are children on our planet that never knew the Queen, never basked in her presence, never worshipped her glorious name! It is a horrid fate for a proud people. Only one of my daughters even remembers the Queen, but only because she has a brief memory from her first birthday. In this world, in this darkness, we were shunned by the other planets because we are brutal and warlike. Certainly in a world with such soft hearts, someone must bestrong. We had no choice. Without our Queen, Queen Serenity would devolve into weakness, into despair, and our mighty kingdom would fall. She does not deserve the throne, she is too weak, too kind. Her child has so little power, her Senshi no fire in their veins. What were we to do?"

Rei sat for a moment, watching as the woman who had spoken so eloquently of her peoples' struggles wolfed down her food, unable to restrain herself. She had not eaten in two days, waiting for the Senshi to reunite and take her to the palace. "Twelve hundred or so years ago, I was taking the princess for a walk when I felt a great evil around me. My powers . . . my miko senses had dulled over the centuries, or I would have felt it earlier. The evil was hiding in a number of nearby humans, feeding on their energy, growing, and it was prepared to kill the princess. Later, we realized that the Black Moon Family had sent that specter to kill Chibiusa. In an instant, I realized that I might be able to fight him, might be able to win, but that I was weaker than I should be. The princess would have died in the battle. I did the only thing I could to banish the evil. I killed hundreds of innocent people to destroy that evil."

Ayura was staring at her, wide-eyed, unable to believe the story she was hearing.

"I could not tell the Queen that I had been so weak. She would have been able to purify the evil in those people, but I am not as strong as her. She banished me for killing her subjects and destroying a part of her city. The guilt weighed so heavily on my heart that I wanted her to kill me. When Minako cast me out, all I wanted to do was die. But, the night before, without my wife's knowledge, I had gotten pregnant."

Ayura grinned, a predatory light in her eyes at the thought. Rei realized with the sudden clarity of a lightning bolt striking home that the woman was quite gay, her love for the Queen blinding her to the chaos she had unleashed. The woman's husband was for show, to prove to Haruka that she had no interest in her, which would have insured her a post at the blonde Senshi's side. Amazing.

"So I suffered alone for a while on the plains of Mars, but I knew that I had to let my daughter live the life of a Senshi. Tricking Ares, I obtained the kitsunezuishou and hid in Crystal Tokyo for months, masquerading as a miko at the shrine in Akaneyama. As the day of my child's birth approached, the villagers told me of an evil that haunted their village, so I set out to vanquish it. Somehow, the Queen and Senshi found me, and they watched as I battled the evil that threatened Chibiusa months earlier. With the power of the kitsunezuishou, I was able to destroy it once and for all, finally strong enough. I went into labor that night and the Senshi came to me, telling me that they forgave me. They had no idea why I did what I did, but they forgave me. When I realized Chibiusa was there, at some point I confessed, and they told me how strong I was to protect her and to take the blame on myself so squarely. When Minako told me that she loved me, I think that my heart returned from the abyss to which I had banished it. In honor of the city that reunited us, I named my daughter Akane."

"Akane," the gray-haired woman breathed. "She . . ." For the first time in her life, Ayura felt a stab of guilt over her actions, over threatening the daughter that meant so much to Rei, and tears began to flow down her face. "I had no idea," she whispered. "I've tried so hard to do what the Queen wanted me to do, but she left when I was barely twenty and only learning my position. I was so lost without her. When she returned, when I saw that anger in her eyes and knew that she was looking at me, the greatest thrill filled my heart. She had returned. She might not have if I just waited. Even if I die, at least I can gaze on her once more. My daughters will serve her as I have, and they will love her as I do."

Rei smiled and placed a gentle hand on Ayura's cheek, wiping away her tears. "Now you understand my pain," she whispered. "I love my Queen as you love yours. As the result of a spell that Haruka cast when we were teenagers, I saw what my life would have been like as Serenity's lover. It was magnificent, but I knew that her heart belonged to another. Your love for the queen is amazing, so powerful and strong, and I know that she can sense that devotion. She knows why you did it, but she cannot overcome her rage at seeing her wife injured. They are two parts of one soul, Ayura, and her heart will turn to Michiru before her planet. She cannot help that."

"Despite her rage, I have never seen her so happy, so complete, and so powerful. We never realized how lost our Queen has been."

"You can help her, Ayura."

"By leaving. I must leave."

"No. You must serve. Serve as your heart wishes. If you love her, then support her and her love. Guide her spirit, not her fury. Command her prayers, not her wars. You were never meant to be a Chancellor, Ayura. You were meant to be a miko."

"What? A miko? But I am already seventy years old. I thought mikos were trained from childhood for their duties."

Rei took Ayura's hand, feeling that the woman's soul was calm and peaceful at last. "There is much you can learn without me speaking a word." Rei closed her red eyes, wondering why she never noticed the strength of this woman's soul, and opened her powers to the gray-haired Chancellor. She felt the woman gasp as images and chants filled her mind, staring into the fire that was Rei's soul.

"_See? We Senshi still have a fire left."_

"_I would not have believed it a few days ago. What do I do?"_

"_Just look at yourself. Everything else will come on its own."_

_

* * *

TBC  
_


	8. Heart of Fire

**Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose**

**Title: **Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose

**Author:** kazeko

**Show:** Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon

**Series: **Crystals of Love: Tales of the Heart from Crystal Tokyo

**Multipart:** yes

**Chapters: **8, complete

**Couple(s): **Haruka/Michiru

**Time:** Crystal Tokyo, a thousand years or so after the Black Moon Family

**Timeline: **"A Child of Darkness and Light", "Crystals of Love: Masks", "The Last Sacrifice: The End of the Silver Millennium", "CAS 1: The Trouble with Love is the Lovers", "CAS 2: To Defy Destiny", "Every Cloud", "Crystal Shards", "CAS 3: Unwilling Accomplice", "Our Past 1: The Reason We Fight", "CAS 4: Princess of Light", "Our Past 2: The Reason We Still Fight", "Our Past 3: The Reason We Fought", "CAS 5: One Last Shining Star", "In the Darkest Forest", "Destiny or Duty", "Dead Crystals", "Desperately Searching", "Kazeko", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 1: The Gathering", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 2: Castle in the Sky", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 3: Queen of the Moon", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 4: Separation Anxiety", "Crystals of Love: Betrayal", "Crystals of Love: Forsaken", "Chronicles of the Star Senshi 5: Black Moon Family", "Crystals of Love: Destined Couple", "Crystals of Love: Horoscope", "Crystals of Love: Haiku", "Crystals of Love: Thunder Goddess", "Crystals of Love: Blood of the Rose"

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them.

* * *

Chapter 8: Heart of Fire

* * *

Haruka stood on the bridge of her ship, staring at the blue/green planet and silvery moon beneath them. She noted with detachment the flurry of activity behind her as the crew prepared to land. Unlike many of the largest ships from the Earth and Moon, most warships from Uranus were built to survive landing and could function inside a planetary atmosphere. The feature was linked to the Uranian distaste for cowards and the lack of escape pods on their ships. The only way for the crew to leave the ship was if the ship was strong enough to make it to ground. Usually each ship carried one or two wings of small fighters for scouting before the battle group arrived, but they were only big enough for one and not sufficient for landing all of the Senshi, their children, and their prisoners on the planet. As weak as some of the Senshi still felt, Haruka was not going to order them to teleport to the planet.

"Majesty, we are ready to initiate reentry."

"Begin."

Haruka smiled as Michiru's hand came to rest on her shoulder, her wife joining her for the final part of the journey. Their daughters were renewing their familial bonds and practicing their powers in the training rooms, but they would be ready to disembark when their mothers called. The Princesses had been making rounds of the ships in the fleet, letting the Uranians know that their true leaders had returned, but they were going to teleport to the planet when their mothers called.

"What are you going to do with her, Haruka?"

"The Chancellor? I don't know. Let Serenity decide."

"And if she decides to be lenient?"

"I trust in her judgment. I have been gone for fifty years, Michiru. I do not think I have the right to question her."

Michiru nodded and watched the planet approach. The ship flinched as it entered the atmosphere of Earth, red filling the viewscreen. Haruka had landed a ship on a planet hundreds of times, but Michiru had never been with her. It was the aqua-haired woman's first planetary landing, and she was mildly unnerved. As they broke through into the atmosphere, the fire against the shields disappeared, and the ship settled into the approach. The tall spires of the Crystal Palace came into view, and Haruka smiled to finally be able to return. She had missed her queen during her long absence.

The ship settled onto a large landing pad outside the palace grounds. Haruka smiled and led her wife off the ship and toward a long-awaited reunion with her queen.

* * *

Serenity stood very patiently on the palace steps, smiling as the large group of Senshi approached her. All of her childhood friends and some of their children were in the group, Haruka and Michiru in the lead. A group of soldiers brought the single prisoner, another Uranian woman walking with them. As she watched, Haruka and Michiru's triplet daughters appeared on the carpet, waiting for their parents' approach. Pluto and Moonlight stood to one side of the queen, Endymion and their children on the other. Arrayed behind them were the Senshi who had helped maintain the barrier around Crystal Tokyo, the three Senshi from Sagittarius and their wives from Leo. The six women had appeared at the same time just before the planet Senshi went into hibernation for a hundred years. Kosame of Regulus, Kousui of Denobola, and Koike of Algieba were triplets from Leo, called by the power of the Senshi of Sol and the Senshi of Moonlight, and they had fallen in love with the three sisters Kikka of Rukbat, Sumomo of Arkab, and Yanagi of Alnasl. Still tired from their ordeal, they had insisted on being present when Haruka and the other Senshi landed.

The large crowd of commoners flanking the red carpet cheered as Haruka stopped before her queen, falling to one knee. "Forgive me, Princess," she whispered, "for being away so long. I never wanted any of this to happen."

Serenity leaned down and pulled Haruka to her feet. "Do not feel ashamed, Haruka. I know that this was not your fault. I am only glad that you have returned to us. Please, bring the Chancellor forward."

Sailor Mars stepped away from her wife and stopped the guards as they stepped forward, placing a hand on the Chancellor's arm. Smiling gently, she led the woman to stand before the queen, pink eyes locking with Usagi's. _"Look into her heart, Usagi. See who she is before you punish her."_

Serenity reached out a hand and held it over the Chancellor's head, closing her eyes and calling on her powers. It seemed like they stood in that pose for hours, neither moving, barely breathing. In reality, only a handful of minutes passed while the Senshi and the people of the Moon waited for their Queen to pass judgment. Akane, standing beside her mothers, watched the event with knowing gold eyes, nodding slowly. This was the future she had seen, the future she had pushed her mothers and the other Senshi towards.

Kazeko and Shousha watched Serenity, knowing deep inside that this woman could never punish a mortal, no matter the crime. She would find a way to help them repent, would help them change, but she could never punish. Despite the weakness her loving heart was seen as on Uranus, the leaders of the Star Senshi knew that Serenity was the best woman to rule over the other planets. Whatever she decided would be the best possible solution. Kazeko glanced at the group of Star Senshi standing near the queen and tilted her head, glancing at the Chancellor. The Senshi each nodded, agreeing silently to obey the Queen's directive, not to speak out against the punishment. They had followed Kazeko for so long that they no longer questioned her decisions, knowing that she had their best interests in mind.

Setsuna, standing with Ailan and Setsuko, watched her daughter probe the Uranian woman's mind. The crisis was over, and it seemed that the Senshi were calmer after than they had been before. Bonds had been reforged, powers had been renewed, and the people they lead saw stronger Queens. In hindsight, Pluto should have anticipated this outcome. Eventually one or another planet would rebel against the seemingly-immortal Senshi who ruled over them. Many short, small rebellions had occurred during the Silver Millenium, and it was long past time for one to happen during Serenity's reign. Setsuna was happy that the crisis had been resolved so easily.

Inside Ayura's mind, the woman's memories played for the watching Queen. Serenity stood on a small hill overlooking the famous Gold Flower Field south of the palace on Uranus. Her long silver gown rustled gently in the wind, a woman dressed in scarlet and gold standing by her side. Ayura, her graying hair held back by a trio of jeweled combs, stood silently beside the Queen, her dress too tight to be moved by the wind. Serenity glanced at the woman and smiled, stretching the wings on her back and shaking her head, letting her long hair flow freely. "You must relax. You are too stiff, too afraid. Do not be afraid of me, Chancellor. For more than two thousand years I have ruled these planets and I have seen things you would not believe. Trust me, there is nothing to fear from me and nothing in your memories you should not wish to relive. Sometimes there are parts of my past I wish to see again."

Ayura nodded, but her stance did not change. As the two watched, a crowd materialized on the field, commoners in dull colors mixed with nobles and lesser royals in brilliant hues and jewels. The palace was decked out in garlands of flowers, probably imported from other planets, and banners marking the different lesser houses important to the palace hung from the balconies. The lower balconies filled with families, strong women dressed in warrior garb, their subservient husbands herding young children and keeping them quiet for the upcoming event.

"What am I seeing?"

"Presentation of the Princesses," Ayura replied, a rare smile gracing her face. "Those are the ten War Leaders and their families, arranged to show great respect to the Queen and her new daughters. The people of Uranus have all come, even more overjoyed because the daughters were born to our Queen, born of her body. It is our belief that power, all power, is passed from the mother to daughter, which is why titles and property can only be passed from birth mother to daughter. These Princesses were the first daughters born to Queen Haruka on Uranus. They are her heirs, her first and only heirs. This is why the entire planet has come today, come to see them. They are very precious to us."

Serenity pointed to a family on a middle balcony with a daughter and three sons dressed in their finest, the girl younger but more well behaved than her brothers. She was dressed in gold, red trimming along the bottom of her dress, neckline, and sleeves, a jeweled scabbard on her hip. The sword resembled the sword on her mother's hip, just as each of the women on the balconies carried a sword. It seemed that the War Leaders carried swords because their Queen carried one. "That girl looks like you."

"That is me. The woman there is the Sixth War Chief, my mother. I am five here. This is the first time I ever see the Queen."

The crowd burst into cheers as four guards stepped onto the uppermost balcony, each woman young and strong, armed and obviously very dangerous. They spread out as two more women stepped out, Kazeko and Shousha dressed in their finest for this important day. Shousha's aqua and sapphire dress glowed from the balcony, her hair curled and pinned up with sapphires and turquoise. Kazeko wore gold, the dress simple velvet, with white feathers along the hem and a short cape hanging from her back. Her short hair was unadorned, a topaz hanging from a chain around her neck, a simple crown on her head. As the leader of the Star Senshi, she often wore a crown to important gatherings, mostly to remind people of her status. On Uranus, worshipped as the birth daughter of the great Queen, she needed to remind no one.

Kazeko raised her hands for silence, and the crowd obeyed. "People of Uranus, we thank you for coming today. My mother has given birth." Cheers and screams met her words, even the stoic War Chiefs smiling and nodding. When the noise died down, Kazeko continued. "My mother has graced my family with not one new sister, but three." The woman smiled and stepped to the side as Haruka and Michiru joined them on the balcony. Haruka carried two wrapped bundles and Michiru the third. The blonde woman looked tired, a little drawn, but to her people she could not have been more beautiful. Michiru was just as worn out as her wife, probably having helped nurse them, and also getting very little sleep.

"It surprised us to see her that day," Ayura murmured. "Among the Royals and other important families on Uranus, a woman does not nurse her own children. Our queen refused to let anyone else touch her daughters. She looked so tired that morning, but I thought she was very strong, very brave, very beautiful." The younger Ayura watched the Queen intently, eyes full of love and worship.

"You fell in love with her that day."

"We all love our queen."

Serenity smiled at the other woman's dismissive tone. "No. You love her more. Your love is not the same as your mother's love for the Queen. You knew this, you recognized that you felt something you should not, even at that young an age."

Ayura sighed and hung her head, some of her hair loose from its tight coiffure. "I knew that I would do anything for our Queen. But I was born to be Sixth War Chief, and I did not think that my inherited position would serve her as I wished to serve her."

On the Balcony, Haruka smiled at her people, glowing in the light. "Five days ago, three young Princesses were born to the line of Uranus of the line of Neptune. Welcome my daughters, Amaya, Adana, and Asami."

The memory faded and another took its place. An older Ayura, possibly about ten, sat in a large play room with the three young princesses. Serenity watched as the girls played with Ayura, clearly happy around the older girl. "I adored her daughters. I was raised with them, and they wanted to be with me." The time skipped forward again, and Ayura was fifteen, the princesses and a younger girl who resembled Ayura standing with her beside a low bed. An older woman, her skin pale and her breathing shallow, was lying on the bed, clearly dying. The Princesses cried as Ayura held the woman's hand, tears in her own eyes.

The dying woman reached up and took her daughter's hand, eyes glazed over with pain. "Ayura, my daughter."

"I am here, Mother."

"You are the best child ever born to any War Leader. You are strong, and proud, and you serve our Queen with a love never seen before." The woman coughed, resting for a moment before she continued. "Your love can go either way, child. You must protect her from herself. She thinks she is strong but she needs us. She will need you one day and you must be there for her."

"I always will."

"You are destined for a special place, a position you cannot comprehend. You must not fail me, Ayura."

"I won't, Mother." The girl looked up as Haruka entered the room, tears in her emerald eyes. "Majesty."

Haruka waved her hand at the teenage girl, kneeling beside the dying woman's bed and touching her forehead. "Telura. You have served me so well over these years. You will be greatly missed, my friend."

"Majesty," she whispered, reaching up and touching Haruka's face. "You have led our people so well for so long. I am proud to be a loyal citizen of Uranus under your care."

"You have always served me well, always watched my back. You saved my life in the Wars in Andromeda. You would accept no payment then, just returned to your place as Sixth War Chief. I must reward your loyalty and love, if not you than your daughters."

Telura nodded and closed her eyes. "I have thought about this, my queen. I have two daughters, and I want both of them to serve you as best they can. My youngest . . . she is my heir. She is suited for this position. Ayura has a different destiny. She must serve you in a different capacity. I do not know what."

Haruka nodded and bowed her head. "I will give your daughter a high position in my court and the power to find her destiny."

The image faded and Ayura sighed. "The Queen made me her Chancellor two days later. I was fifteen years old. My sister of ten became Sixth War Chief and my brothers raised her and taught her the position. She was very good, did our mother proud. For the next five years I served our queen faithfully, uncertain what my mother meant. At the age of twenty, I realized that I could not stay single for long in our society. As Chancellor, my position was greater than any below the Queen and her family, so my husband had to be a man from a family of importance. When First War Chief Karina offered her oldest son in marriage, politics and the powers of court demanded that I accept. I realized . . ."

Serenity smiled and nodded, reaching over and running her fingers through Ayura's loose hair. It was a little darker than it had been when the visions began. "You realized that a husband would keep Haruka from suspecting that you had feelings for her."

"It let me do a little more. I allowed myself to get pregnant, and my child let me get even closer to the queen and her daughters. I saw how Michiru began to pull away from our queen, I saw how much she was hurt. I knew there had to be something I could do."

Serenity watched as the scene changed again, to a view from the outside of Haruka's personal chambers. Ayura, her long black hair hanging down her back, stood outside the carved wooden doors, dark eyes filled with rage. Haruka's voice could be heard from inside her room, talking to her youngest daughters. "How can I be the woman she wants me to be? She devotes every ounce of energy to her planet . . . there is nothing left for me. My beautiful girls . . . I don't know if she even loves me anymore."

"Mother she does. She must." Asami's soothing voice filled the hallway. "Kazeko says that she needs time to sort out her new life. She has to learn to balance her life as Queen with her life as a wife and mother. Kazeko says that it is not easy even for her, and she does not rule a planet."

"Yet Shousha never suffers an empty bed. No, Asami, Michiru is colder, harsher, older than I remember. Something happened to the woman I love and I do not know how to find her."

"Maybe she can find you. Maybe if you give her some space . . . go away for a while . . . she will come to see how much she needs you." Ayura started at that, eyes wide.

"Perhaps." There was a sound of furniture moving, then the door swung open and Haruka exited her suite, three daughters in tow. They were twenty, beautiful young women, and just barely beginning to learn their powers and connect with their planets. They followed their birth mother everywhere and were quickly learning certain parts of the administration of the planet. They looked frail and delicate, but every Uranian knew the strength and power in their slender forms.

Haruka glanced at the Chancellor and smiled, her eyes dim. "You waited. Good. How is Mariye?"

"Fine, Majesty. She is learning how to write and the basics of swordsmanship. She will be a fine warrior one day."

"Very good. She will make you proud. Ayura, you have served me from the time you were five years old. You helped raise my daughters, you learned the rules of court and have helped them become great Princesses. You have been strong for me, and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate that. I must ask you for another favor, my friend."

"Anything, Majesty. I am your loyal Chancellor."

Haruka nodded and ran her long fingers through her short blonde hair. "You have done a great deal of the tough administration of this kingdom for the past few years. I have put too much on you, now I must put more. My wife . . . I need some time away from her. Far away. You must run Uranus while I am gone. My daughters will go with me to help me while I am away. You must keep everything stable, must keep everyone in line. You know how hard this is, you understand what I am asking of you. Do not fail me."

"Never," Ayura whispered. "We will do you proud, my queen."

Haruka smiled and rested a hand on Ayura's shoulder. "I know you will. I will try not to be gone for too long."

As Haruka and her daughters walked away, Ayura clenched her fists. "We will avenge you, my beloved queen. We will punish the woman who betrayed your love. I promise you that."

Serenity turned back to the woman by her side. Ayura's hair had darkened back to its younger shade, her dress looser and red. "You wanted to protect her?"

"I had to protect her. I . . . I love her."

The Queen nodded as the images faded, her long silvery hair waving in the same breeze that had been blowing on the hill. "Over two thousand years ago, I was a mortal girl on Earth. I had four friends and a boyfriend. Over time we became more, became sisters in the struggle against the evil that kept assaulting our planet. But one of those women loved me more than she knew how to express. In a strange alternate reality, we were lovers. Endymion is the love of my life, my soulmate, but I love each of my Senshi as well. And I know they love me more than their own lives, more than their wives and daughters. You have a love for your queen that is not normal for a woman of Uranus, but it is a love I have seen before. You expressed your love in an unacceptable way, and for that I must punish you. I can do no less to honor the people you killed. But you are not evil, Ayura, and your place was never as Chancellor. That kind of power leads you to want to protect Haruka, and she does not need that. The only woman she needs to protect her is Michiru. She does need guidance from time to time. And I think there are other people on your planet who might need such guidance as well.

"To that effect, I have made my decision."

Ayura gasped and opened her eyes, falling to her knees between the guards surrounding her and Queen Serenity. The Queen stood above her, a small smile on her lips, gossamer wings fluttering in a faint breeze. Serenity glanced at her husband, letting her gaze trail across each of the Senshi standing before her. She stopped on Haruka and beckoned her forward, reaching down to help the Chancellor to her feet. As Ayura stood, her gray hair darkened and the years fell from her slender frame. Haruka's eyes widened and she looked to her queen for an explanation.

"People of Crystal Tokyo and the Planets of the Alliance, thank you for gathering here. I have seen this woman's memories, shared her struggle, and I am ashamed that I have never thought of this before today. I am selfish, thinking that I am the only one to have the love of my people."

"Usagi . . ."

Serenity raised her hand, smiling at the Senshi of Mars. "Rei you understand her heart, you have seen it too. This woman's crime is that she loves her queen too much. She has tried to express her love the only way she was ever taught how, through war. I cannot condone her actions, but I cannot condemn the feelings behind them."

Haruka stepped forward and tilted Ayura's chin up, emerald eyes meeting black. "Is this true? Is that why you started this war when I asked you to keep everyone in line?"

"I had to, Majesty. I . . . I had to protect you from the one who hurt you. You are our beloved queen, we would do anything for you. Going to war for you is nothing, and going to war to punish those who hurt you and took you away form us . . . I had to do nothing at all to convince the War Chiefs. We wanted you back, had to have you back, and we knew no other way."

"And you?"

Ayura swallowed and nodded, hanging her head. "I love you, Majesty. I have loved you from the day I first saw you when I was five years old and the Princesses were born. I have done everything I can to help you, guide you, protect you, as my mother asked. I only wanted to get you to come back."

"And you thought that hurting Michiru was the way to do it? I love my queen more than you could ever love me, and I have loved her for the past two thousand years. Michiru means more to me than my own life, and I have died for her before. More than once. These are my sisters, my daughters, and my granddaughters. You could never please me by hurting them." Haruka's voice was soft, her tone gentle. With the danger gone and her wife safe in her arms, the blonde queen could not summon any anger for the errant Chancellor. By her side, Michiru smiled, knowing that this woman's misguided love had brought her to her senses about how she had treated her wife, and she was grateful.

"I see that," Ayura whispered, tears on her cheeks. "But no matter what happens to me, no matter what I suffer for my mistake, you are returned. And I have seen you once more before my death. For that I am grateful."

Serenity touched Haruka's shoulder, waiting for the blonde to step back before she pulled Ayura to her feet. "Your punishment is this, daughter of the Sixth War Chief. You are stripped of your title, your possessions, and your land. You have nothing the queen does not give you, and your line will forever be dependant upon others for their well being. You and your daughters are ordered to live on Mars, with Queen Rei and her daughter the Princess Miko Akane, and learn their ways, their peace. Once you are ready, you will return to your planet and found a line of mikos, powerful women the likes of which the Outer Planets have never seen. Your line will serve Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto in the same capacity as the mikos who currently serve in the courts of Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and Jupiter. You will guide, advise, and protect the queens and their lines, and you will ever be women of peace and love. Each of your daughters will travel to a different planet, and you will serve Queen Haruka and the Princesses Amaya, Adana, and Asami on Uranus."

"M-majesty?" Hope glowed in Ayura's eyes, and Serenity ran two gentle fingers down her cheek.

"The life of a miko is not a pleasant one. I know what Rei showed you. You will never have her power, but you will have enough to serve. Never again will you give orders, lead others into battle, show your strength in warfare to your people. On your planet, among the Uranians, this is a great loss I know. But your line will one day be seen for the power it holds. Your life will be filled with scorn and ridicule from the War Leaders and lesser royals, and you must endure this with pride. This is the destiny your mother saw on her deathbed, but you would never have accepted such a role then."

"My mother . . . how could she have seen this?"

"Your mother was a great warrior," Haruka replied, her voice low. "She loved me as well. She fought by my side in the Wars of Andromeda, and she saw horrors most could not imagine. She saved my life in a particularly brutal battle, mended my wounds and watched over me until Michiru could come, could bring Ami to heal me. Afterwards, she told me that she did not want to fight anymore. She wished that she could serve me in peace, could learn tranquility. She could not say these things on Uranus because it would have dishonored her and her line. She wanted to give you the chance to serve me as she wanted to, which is why your sister was named heir. I made you Chancellor because I did not know what she wanted and you needed the power to find out on your own. I think Usagi is right. I think this is the path you were meant to walk."

Ayura nodded and hung her head. "I think you are right. After what Queen Mars told me, after what she showed me, I have no more stomach for war. I want to know her peace."

"You will. The women of your line will live longer than normal people, giving you plenty of time to learn what Rei needs to teach you. It could take you years to learn every lesson you need."

Ayura kissed Queen Serenity's hand and fell to her knees at Haruka's feet. "No matter how many years it takes, I will be worthy of you, my queen. I will serve you again."

* * *

"Usagi, thank you for giving her a chance. I saw her soul, I knew that she is not evil."

"This will not be easy for her, Rei. You cannot understand how a pacifist is viewed on my planet. Her daughters will go to planets that respect a miko's gift, but Ayura will bear the brunt of public outrage." Haruka sighed and sipped her tea. "She must be strong enough to survive it."

The ten women sat in a circle in the Queen's meeting room, some of their daughters on other cushions nearby, sipping tea or snacking. Mid-afternoon sunlight streamed through the windows of the palace, warming the white and silver silk and giving color to the serene room. Serenity sat on her cushion and nodded, her tea untouched on the low table before her. "This was not easy for me, Haruka. I felt the deaths of many hundreds of people at the weapons of her fleet. None of my Senshi were lost, for which I am grateful, but my people suffered. Some will think that I did not punish her enough."

"And some will think you punished her too much," Makoto countered. "Usagi, you know how this works. There will always be people unhappy with some decisions you make, but you always choose the best path. No matter what she did, we could never kill her, even if she had been unrepentant and truly evil. She is mortal and we cannot kill her. The revelation that she loves Haruka will cause a stir among all of your people. Many will wonder if other mortals love their queens enough to do something like this. Many will wonder if we doubt their loyalty because of this. In a handful of years, it will all be forgotten and no one will care that you chose this punishment, that she was allowed to live and serve when she killed so many and hurt some of our daughters and wives." She reached over and squeezed Ami's hand, smiling at the Senshi of Mercury. "We must remember that our people can be very protective of us."

"Mako-chan, Rei, and I have the most to worry about. Our people are strong-willed, sometimes violent, and sometimes warlike. I was too caught up in my own pain to see what my Chancellor felt toward me, or see what she might do to protect me. I will not make such a mistake again."

Michiru, safely curled against Haruka's side, reached up and kissed her wife. "I will never ignore you again, Ruka. I should never have let us grow so far apart. There are many tasks one of our daughters or one of my lesser royals can handle. The next time you come to me and say I bore you, I will find a way to keep you entertained."

A light twinkled in Haruka's eyes. "Promise, my Michi?"

"Always."

Haruka smirked and put her tea down. "Then I believe I am bored now." They vanished in a shower of pink rose petals, Michiru's laugh ringing in the room. Serenity, still a little bit innocent even after so long, blushed, and her Senshi laughed, hugging each other and their queen, grateful that they were together again.

Venus raised her glass, happy and relaxed for the first time since the war began. "A toast to love. Love for each other, love for our wives and children, and love for the men and women who trust us to protect them."

"And may we never ignore one in favor of the other," Rei added, glancing at her wife, her sisters, and her queen in turn.

"I'll drink to that," Usagi replied, lifting her glass. "I'm glad we survived this, and I think we may come out stronger for the strife. Here's to Ayura, for showing us how blind and numb we have been."

"To Ayura."

* * *

The End


End file.
